The present invention relates to a copier, facsimile apparatus, printer or similar image forming apparatus and more particularly to an improvement in a tray for stacking papers formed with images and an improvement in an arrangement for ventilating an image forming apparatus.
In an image forming apparatus, papers formed with images are sequentially stacked on a tray. Generally, when images are continuously formed on consecutive papers, the papers stacked on the tray are transported away from the apparatus after the completion of image formation. The tray must therefore be strong enough to withstand the weight of such a stack of papers. To increase the strength of the tray, the thickness of the tray may be increased. However, when the tray is implemented as a molding of resin, an increase in the thickness of the tray results in an increase in the required amount of resin and therefore cost. For this reason, the thickness and therefore volume of the tray cannot be increased beyond a certain limit. It follows that the tray unavoidably bends due to the weight of papers stacked thereon. The papers, however, must be preventing from slipping down despite the bend of the tray.
To reduce the area to be occupied by the apparatus, a space is sometimes formed in the apparatus body and open to the outside at at least one side thereof. In this case, a portion of the casing of the apparatus forming the bottom of the above space plays the role of a tray. When an inner tray is disposed in the space in order to use the space more efficiently, it obstructs, when bent downward, the discharge of papers onto the tray implemented by the bottom of the space and makes it difficult for the operator to pick up the papers from the tray.
It is a common practice to provide a tray for use with an image forming apparatus with a foldable configuration in order to reduce the overall size of the apparatus when the apparatus is not used. This kind of tray is foldable upward at its intermediate portion, so that it protrudes from the apparatus little. An anti-roll or stiffening member may be positioned on the tray at substantially the center in the widthwise direction of a paper. The anti-roll member stiffens consecutive papers and thereby promotes neat stacking of the papers on the tray.
A tray capable of being rotated and stiffening papers with an anti-roll member has recently been proposed. The anti-roll member associated with this tray is removable from the tray because it interferes with a part of the tray during the rotation of the tray. This, however, brings about a problem that the operator must remove the anti-roll member from the tray every time the operator desires to rotate the tray. Should the tray with the anti-roll member be forcibly rotated, the anti-roll member would be damaged.
On the other hand, an image forming apparatus includes many parts and units generating heat during the operation of the apparatus. It has been customary to provide the apparatus with an exhaust fan and a vent for forcibly discharging air inside the apparatus. A current trend in, e.g., the copier art is toward a configuration capable of closely contacting, e.g., the wall of a room and therefore saving the space. However, a wall adjoining the vent critically lowers the ventilation efficiency available with the fan and makes the ventilation arrangement meaningless. Even a vent formed in one side of the apparatus body gives rise to the following problem. Assume that the apparatus is situated in a space closed at three sides by walls. Then, hot air emitted from the side of the apparatus body flows upward along the walls and immediately reaches the body, particularly the face and hands, of the operator. While the vent may be formed in the rear of the apparatus body and directed upward, as also proposed in the past, such a vent allows dust and other impurities thereinto while failing to prevent hot air from reaching the operator""s face.
It is therefore a first object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus with a tray capable of obviating troubles ascribable to its deformation caused by the weight of papers without resorting to reinforcement, i.e., an increase in volume.
It is a second object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus with a tray free from the interference of an anti-roll member when rotated.
It is a third object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus causing a minimum of hot air ascribable to, e.g., a fixing unit to reach the operator.
In accordance with the present invention, in an image forming apparatus including a tray for stacking papers formed with images, the tray is partly bent upward to form a bent portion.
Also, in accordance with the present invention, an image forming apparatus includes an apparatus body, and a stepped portion formed on the rear of the apparatus body and including an upper part protruding to the rear more than a lower part. The stepped portion includes an air outlet for directing air emitted from the apparatus body by ventilating means downward.